WST has shared two important documents today, and has confirmed the 20000 pounds guaranteed income for this season and the next. Here are the announcements:
2023/24 Calendar and held-over plans
The updated WST calendar for the 2023/24 season, including Seeding Cut-Off Points, is now available:
Click here for the tournament calendar
We can also announce a schedule showing which seeded players (if any) will be held over to the final stages for each tournament:
Interestingly it seems that the German Masters will have only one round of qualifiers this season with the tournament proper now 2024 over a full week, which is good, the German fans certainly deserve it but no wildcards are invited.
The two “Chinese” ranking events will have only 8 held-over matches: those featuring the World Champion, the (next) highest ranked player, the 2 highest ranked players from China, plus 4 local wildcards. It’s a sensible decision as the first days in China, in (the most) recents years were a schedule nightmare. But it also means that Ronnie, if he is true to his word about wanting to play in China, will have to qualify, unless he can remain World number one, or second only to Luca Brecel.
There are some gaps in the calendar towards the end of the season and I would expect a return of the China Open if circumstances allow.
At the moment a lot of events don’t have a sponsor.
Guaranteed 20000 pounds income
Prize Money Guarantee For Tour Players Extended For Two More Seasons
Friday 16 Jun 2023 11:12AM
Players on the World Snooker Tour will be guaranteed to earn a minimum of £20,000 during both the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, under a system introduced for the first time last year to provide financial security.
Under the initiative, which is funded by WST and the WPBSA Players Board, players will be offered payments of up to £10,000 in July, and a further £10,000 in January.
These payments are set against prize money, so players otherwise earning £20,000 or more over the season will have the up-front payments deducted from their prize money or appearance fee earnings. The system will particularly benefit those who would otherwise earn less than £20,000 in prize money.
That’s excellent news and I do hope that the season is a good one for WPBSA/WST so that they can support this policy in the future.
I’m a bit worried though by the recent trend to make tickets more expensive and to focus on initiatives like the “Century Club”. There are dozens of thousand of faithful fans who have supported the tour for many, many years and who might now be “out-prized”. That’s plain wrong and will backfire sooner than later.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 